ERIC Number: EJ1370292
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-8756-7555
EISSN: EISSN-1930-8299
Role of College Environment on Students' Soft Skills: Achievement Goal Structure
Zhang, Qiannan; Lin, Sheng; Liu, Jinlan; Zhang, Jingyi
College Teaching, v70 n4 p422-432 2022
The development of undergraduate students' soft skills is crucial because their chances to satisfactorily deal with the demands of various environments and interlocutors increases with the development of their soft skills. Based on the achievement goal theory, this study aimed to examine the role of the school environment in fostering students' soft skills. Structural equation modeling was conducted to examine the relationships between five environmental factors--learning task, teacher support, extracurricular activities, interaction with teachers and peers, and soft skills. These findings positively predicted soft skills in college environments with development and competence growth, for both in-class and out-of-class contexts. In addition, the findings revealed that the most effective methods to facilitate students' soft skills development included supporting extracurricular activities, engaging students in high-order learning tasks, facilitating peer learning, and providing structured guidance.
Descriptors: College Environment, Soft Skills, Goal Orientation, Undergraduate Students, Structural Equation Models, Extracurricular Activities, Teacher Student Relationship, Peer Relationship, Foreign Countries, Academic Achievement, College Freshmen, College Seniors, Learner Engagement, Student Surveys, National Surveys, Skill Development
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: China
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: National Survey of Student Engagement
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A